The dollar jumped to a 9-month high against the pound and extended its rise against the euro as worries about Greece's financial stability, a possible European bailout plan and uncertainty about U.K. government and debt sent investors to the U.S. currency's safety. In morning trading in New York, the British pound tumbled below $1.50 for the first time since May 2009 — sinking more than 3.5 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $1.4890 in morning trading after dropping as low as $1.4784 earlier. Late on Friday, the pound fetched $1.5248. The 16-nation euro tumbled to $1.3526 from 1.3620 late Friday, and the dollar rose to 89.28 Japanese yen from 88.88 yen. In the U.K., a hotly-contested general election and the possibility of a shaky coalition government have investors worried about the country's ability to deal with its own debts. Britain's deficit is expected to be around 12 percent of economic output this year — not far below the levels that have brought Greece a fully fledged debt crisis. Meanwhile, the EU finance chief Olli Rehn said Greece had to make still more spending cuts, even after 50,000 people demonstrated through Athens last week during a general strike against the austerity plan. There were media reports of help coming from other European countries, but German Chancellor Angela Merkel publicly reiterated her opposition to a bailout. Greece's acute debt crisis, and fears of default, have led to shaken confidence in the euro and worried investors about debt levels in other European countries, such as Spain, Portugal and Italy. "Sovereign credit risk remains a real concern and an influential source of continued euro weakness," said UBS analyst Geoffrey Yu. UBS expects the euro to fall to $1.30 within 3 months. Nordic currencies also tumbled versus the dollar after Finland and Sweden said fourth-quarter gross domestic product shrank in the fourth quarter.

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